All publications mentioned throughout this application are fully incorporated herein by reference, including all references cited therein.
Disposable wet wipes or towelettes pre-moistened with a liquid or cream are well known in the art and are commonly used for personal care. Impregnated wet wipes typically consist of a dry fabric, usually a nonwoven fabric, which is made by any known technology of laying and bonding. Examples of such technologies include, but is not limited to, air-laid processes, wet-laid processes, hydroentangling processes, staple fiber carding and bonding, and solution spinning. The nonwoven fabric is then converted, cut, impregnated with liquid, folded, stacked in layers and packed as wet wipes.
The liquid in which the fabric is impregnated in is usually an aqueous composition combined with various ingredients such as humectants, emollients, surfactants, emulsifiers, anti-microbial agents, perfumes, pH adjusting agents, active ingredients, etc. Current converting technologies spray the liquid onto the nonwoven fabric via nozzles, which requires the liquids to have low viscosity of about 50 mPas and no more than 2000 mPas. This means that only low viscous impregnation liquids can be used, which limits the possible impregnation liquids and the usable ingredients therein.
While known wipe products can deliver beneficial ingredients onto the skin of the user, they do not provide the cosmetic, pleasant and esthetic sensation, which is achieved when using standard cosmetic creams, lotions and gels.
WO 2009/125405 discloses a wet wipe product in which viscosity of the anionic polysaccharides is formed in the presence of cations. These anionic polysaccharides are not compatible with cationic substances, and thus such preparations are limited in composition. For example, a cationic biocide such as Benzalkonium Chloride, is not compatible with Algin, and the incorporation of both may result in sedimentation. It is submitted that the polymer of the present invention is compatible with anions, cations and non-ionic substances.